Palm chop case: Bail pleas of two rejected

KOCHI: The Ernakulam NIA Special Court on Thursday dismissed the bail applications of two accused in the palm-chopping case. Special Judge S Vijayakumar passed the order while considering the bail applications filed by Younis and Niyas, who are the eighth and nineteenth accused, respectively.The court held that the charges against the accused were of a serious nature. The prosecution case is that T J Joseph, teacher of Newman College, Thodupuzha, was attacked in Muvattupuzha on July 4, 2010, by a gang alleging that the former had set a question paper having blasphemous content.